(Click here or the photo above to watch an audio slideshow on the doors and windows of Italy. To watch it full screen, click on the arrows in the lower right corner of the slideshow.)
With the euro high and the economy weak I thought I’d help by creating an audio slideshow mini-staycation for those who are dreaming of traveling to Europe but simply can’t justify it with their bank account.
For me, traveling to Italy is all about immersing myself in the colors and shapes unique to that part of the world: the earthen yellows, burnt orange, and dusty browns of the stucco buildings; the ornate architectural embellishments; and the soft shadows cast by a gentle sun.
Looking through photos from my trip there in 2007, I realized I captured much of this in the photos I took of windows and doors. Some of them are the typical, sentimental shots of flowers dripping down from small rod-iron window balconies; clothes drying on the line in the cool Tuscan air; or old bicycles parked haphazardly on ancient city streets.
But they are all real and representative of what you see there. These images slowly become a part of you and can alter your aesthetic sensibilities. These visual memories are the most important thing you bring back home, but often get overlooked in favor of the souvenir guide of Rome, the leather bookmark from Florence or the Murano glass figurine from Venice.
It’s my hope that this audio slideshow will offer you the same visual treat you’d get on an afternoon stroll down the Via Veneto, the back streets of Tuscany, or alongside the Grand Canal in Venice. So sit back and relax with a real or imagined glass of Chianti and enjoy this staycation. You deserve it.
–Mark Micheli for RootsLiving
(P.S. — There’s a message on one of the doors. See if you can find it and if you do, follow the instructions. You’ll be rewarded.)
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